Sony announces PlayStation Classic microconsole

Sony has confirmed it is to follow Nintendo into the nostalgia-driven market for miniature replica consoles, launching a PlayStation Classic featuring 20 pre-loaded games in time for Christmas.

Nintendo found a way to cash in on the love for its back-catalogu6 with the launch of the NES Classic Mini and SNES Classic Mini, two replica games consoles based unsurprisingly on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System respectively and featuring a built-in single-board computer running an emulator capable of accessing a bunch of pre-loaded fully licensed games - and, with a little hacking, unofficial ROM dumps. Their popularity led to stock issues, and did not go unnoticed by the company's rivals; now Sony, too, is getting in on the act.

Dubbed, in an unimaginative but entirely descriptive manner, the PlayStation Classic, Sony's miniature console celebrates the near-25-years since the company launched its CD-ROM-based 32-bit console on the market - a console, it must be remembered, that was originally going to bear the Nintendo logo. Built to a scale some 45 percent smaller than its inspiration, and naturally lacking the CD-ROM of its predecessor, the device comes with 20 pre-loaded games and two wired controllers. While the full list of games has yet to be confirmed, the company has announced that Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, and Wild Arms have all made the cut.

UK pricing for the console has yet to be confirmed, with Sony setting a US recommended retail price of $99.99 (around £76 excluding taxes) ahead of its launch on December 3rd 2018. More information is available on the official website.